


more he gives than takes

by siojo



Category: One Piece
Genre: Ace hears he is loved, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, At Least Technically, Family Bonding, Family Secrets, Gen, Pre-Slash, Sharing a Bed, Summoning, Temporary Character Revival, a smidge of that, mentioned Gol D Roger, mentioned Gol D Roger/Portgas D Rouge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-19
Updated: 2018-11-19
Packaged: 2019-08-25 23:25:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,194
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16670383
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/siojo/pseuds/siojo
Summary: In which Marco can summon people, living or dead, as long as he has five things they loved and a pentagram and Ace wants to meet his mother.





	more he gives than takes

**Author's Note:**

> Based off of the tumblr ask where you put five things into a pentagram to summon someone and the sequel to Marco summoning Sabo for Ace on my tumblr.

Marco isn’t as use to the quiet that comes with knowing Ace for any length of time, how he’ll stop talking for ages instead of putting on a show, so loud and boisterous, but never giving anything away. Even now, just the two of them in his room with Kotatsu sprawled across his bed and Ace trying to pet his belly, getting sharp claws on every attempt.

 

“You never said if you were ever going to ask me to summon your mom, do you not want to see her?” Marco asks finally, when the silence becomes too much for him.

 

Ace glances up at him, hissing when Kotatsu’s claws catch his hand, “It’s not that I don’t want to see her,” he admits after he’s freed it, wiggling his fingers beyond Kotatsu’s grasp. “I do, really.”

 

“But?”

 

“She died giving birth to me,” Ace says, refusing to look at Marco, like he always does when Marco knows there’s something stupid tangled up in his thoughts. Something that has to do with the black moods he has where he doesn’t speak to anyone. “What would I even say?”

 

“I don’t think I’m the one to ask about that,” Marco says putting the pen he’s been using down to face Ace fully. “I don’t know any father besides Pops and I can’t even begin to guess where my home island was.”

 

“But if you could?” Ace asks.

 

“I don’t think I need it, Ace. I’m happy with this, but you’re not and there’s nothing wrong with that,” Marco adds when he catches sight of Ace’s face. “People are different. I don’t need more, I’ve never needed it, but you do and there’s nothing wrong with that.”

 

Ace laughs, soft and almost what Marco would call a giggle if it were one of the nurses, “Thank you, Marco. I still have to get everything together. Some for it’s going to be a bit hard to find. Well,” he smiles tightly. “At least anything for my father will be.”

 

“Do you have a lead on anything that might have been your father’s?”

 

“He had some friends that I think I can find something with,” Ace says slowly. “But I’m going to need a week to get there, collect something, and return. And that’s not counting everything else we need.”

 

“A very expensive brand of candle wax, hibiscus flowers, and a picture of a garden,” Marco answers looking at the report that he had gotten from his contact. “I can help you, get some of it. If you think that it’s needed?”

 

“You would?”

 

“You’re my friend,” Marco reminds Ace, because he thinks maybe if he says it enough, Ace will believe it. “And if it will help you see your mom again, I’m more than willing to help you get it. Won’t it be faster?”

 

“It would,” Ace admits softly. “But you don’t have to, I know that you’re bus-” he hisses as Kotatsu bites down on one of his fingers, too close to his nose. “That was mean, Kotatsu.”

 

“And now you feel how I suffer each time I get even a touch too close to your fierce little cat.”

 

“Kotatsu is almost as big as Stefan, I don’t think you can call him little,” Ace states, tapping Kotatsu’s nose and laughing as he tries to bite down on it. “You’re sure a cutie. A good kitty.” he glances up at Marco. “If you’re sure that it won’t be too much.”

 

“Never,” Marco promises. “I’ll even clear it with Pops for you, if you would like? I know that you don’t like to involve others in personal matters.”

 

“Oh?”

 

Marco rolls his eyes, “You don’t talk about much. The most I’ve ever gotten out of you is about your brothers and that’s only because you asked me to summon one of them, Ace. Forgive me for thinking that you weren’t the biggest fan of telling people about yourself.”

 

Ace smiles, “You really do pay too much attention to people, it’s a little creepy.”

 

“I don’t,” Marco states, because he doesn’t. He knows most of his siblings, had them around him for years now and knows what they will and won’t agree to and how they’ll react to things, it’s only Ace that still vexes him.

 

“I believe you,” Ace says, even though Marco can read his face well enough to know that he doesn’t. “If you’re serious about that, I,” he pauses. “I would like if you would be willing to help me with this.”

 

“Of course I will, Ace. Do you want me to ask Pops now?” Marco asks curiously, watching Ace butt heads with Kotatsu, smiling again. “Or should we wait?”

 

“Maybe we could stay here for a bit longer?”

 

“Of course,” Marco says turning back to his paperwork. “Let me know when you’re ready, I can wait as long as you need me to.”

 

He’s pretty sure that Ace waited for him to be immersed in his paperwork, but he still hears the quiet thank you that Ace mutters as he checks the numbers for the supplies that they’re going to need to pick up at the next port town. Marco glances over at him, smiling when he sees Ace curled up with Kotatsu licking his face. That was good, he looked far too tense over something as simple as meeting his mother. Maybe one day, he might even let Marco know why.

* * *

 

“You don’t write or call and now you show up on my ship asking for things,” Shanks pouts as Ace shifts uncomfortably on the deck, refusing to look at him. “And you’re not even telling me what you want to borrow,” he pauses. “I don’t lend Benn out to people.”

 

Ace snorts, almost grinning before it falls from his face, “I’m not here to borrow your first mate. No offense, but I’m not sure that you’ll survive long without him.”

 

“That’s mean,” Shanks says hand pressing to his chest. “Benn, Ace is breaking my heart!”

 

“If he could break it quietly, I would appreciate it,” Benn answers, not even looking up from where he’s been carving seastone bullets for almost six hours. “We’ll hold a funeral at sea in another hour.”

 

“Why are we holding a funeral?” Yassop asks, sprawled over a barrel, his head hanging dangerously close to the ground. “Did someone die?”

 

“The captain did-”

 

“I’m not dead, Benn! Stop lying to the crew!”

 

Benn sighs, smirking as he glances at Shanks, “Sometimes I can still hear his voice.”

 

“Fucking rude,” Shanks grumbles turning back to Ace instead of his rude crew. At least Ace pretended that Shanks was a powerful Yonko instead of a henpecked captain. “But that still doesn’t explain you visiting. I know I said you were welcome to come back, but I didn’t expect you to.”

 

“I’ve been busy,” Ace admits softly. “But I’m actually here to ask a favor. Could we, if it’s alright, talk privately?”

 

Shanks raises an eyebrow, but nods slowly, “That’s fine. Benn, I’ll be in my cabin with Ace.”

 

“Don’t sleep with him, Luffy would never forgive you if you slept with his brother,” Benn answers shifting in his seat to try and check how his bullet was coming. “It’s considered a little rude.”

 

“I’m not gonna sleep with Shanks,” Ace says pulling a face. “It’s Shanks.”

 

“I’ll have you know that I am a highly desirable partner and people line up to spend the night with me. You should be honored to have a night with me,” Shanks states pretending to be offended. “Don’t worry kid, I’m not going to do anything to you. Come on.”

 

Ace is quiet as they walk, his arms crossed behind his back, biting his lower lip bloody everytime that Shanks chances a glimpse behind him to check that he’s still following him.

 

“Take the chair,” Shanks says, sitting down on the edge of his bed. “You said you wanted to talk to me, is something wrong with Luffy?”

 

“No, no. Luffy, Luffy should be fine,” Ace says quickly. “He’s still back on Dawn as far as I know and he’s suppose to be getting a guest soon,” he pauses. “I found an old friend of ours and sent them to visit.”

 

Shanks nods, leaning back, “Then why are you here? I can’t think of anything else that we might have in common.”

 

“I’m trying to find something that belonged to my father. A picture of him or something he might have owned,” Ace says so fast that the start of his sentence slurring together just slightly. “Marco, he can summon people?”

 

“I’ve heard about that. He needs five things that they loved and he can summon someone, even back from the dead, right?” he waits for Ace to nod. “But why come to me?”

 

Ace shifts, looking more uncomfortable, “You knew him, my father. Might have known my mother too. She’s the one that I’m trying to have Marco summon, but unless I have something from him, I’m only going to have four items.”

 

“I’m gonna need names, Ace. I can’t magically guess who your parents are.”

 

“Portgas D Rouge was my mom,” Ace says looking at Shanks and then away quickly. “She lived on Baterilla?”

 

Shanks frowns, because he remembers Baterilla, they had spent increasing amounts of time there before they had disbanded. But he can’t remember someone named Rouge. There hadn’t been many women that would have anything to do with the Pirate King’s crew and as much as he would like to say otherwise, Shanks couldn’t remember any of their names.

 

“Pinkish hair and brown eyes, she ran a bar.”

 

“I remember her,” Shanks says slowly, because he might have forgotten her name, but he always remembered the friendly bartender who had only allowed him one drink, if she had let him any, when they were there. “She was nice, happy and always wearing those flowers. But I didn’t know she had a husband.”

 

Ace snorts bitterly, “I don’t even know if the asshole married her, just that he left her alone and pregnant to die. But I do know that you knew him, Gramps always made sure that I knew who he was, even when he didn’t know much about my mom.”

 

“Doesn’t help me figure out who he is,” Shanks states raising an eyebrow.

 

“Yeah, I know,” Ace sighs, shoulders tense. “I don’t have much practice, telling people about him. Not with how people react.”

 

“I’m sure that I’ve heard worse.”

 

Ace looks at him for a long moment, before biting his lip again, “Roger. My father’s name was Gol D Roger.”

 

“Rouge and Roger had a kid?” Shanks has heard the rumors, how could he not? It was all the marines could talk about in the year after Roger’s execution, about how Roger had a kid hidden away somewhere. He had even heard that the hunt was centering in on Baterilla, but he had assumed it was all rumor and hearsay. “You-”

 

“I can’t prove it,” Ace admits. “Gramps, Garp, he says that Roger asked him to take care of my mom after the execution, because he knew it would be dangerous. I don’t have anything to give you that could say-”

 

“You look like him,” Shanks interrupts him, feeling almost like something inside him is missing. “Not a lot, not enough that I would notice without being told, but it’s there. You look more like Rouge, which is good, she was the prettier of the two.”

 

Ace ducks his head, “I think that’s a compliment.”

 

“It is. Roger looked stupid most of the time, unless he was smiling and even then, it wasn’t attractive. I don’t know what your mom would have seen in him.”

 

“Me either. But that’s why I’m here, do you have anything of his? I’ve got everything else that I need for Marco to do this, but I need something from him.”

 

“I’ve got a few things,” Shanks admits slowly, already thinking about what he’s got in the lockbox hidden in his closet. “And I’m more than willing to give you one. I’m just a little shocked.”

 

Ace nods, “Because they had a kid.”

 

“Because you aren’t dead,” Shanks corrects. “Those hunts were very thorough, I can’t believe they missed you. I’m glad that they did.”

 

“She- my mom- she extended her pregnancy, I was born too late to be Roger’s son. It killed her.”

 

Shanks makes a soft sound as he stands, “Rouge was always strong. She ran her bar alone and was able to throw fully grown men, pirates at that, out when they were too stubborn and drunk to listen to her or caused problems.”

 

“She sounds,” and Ace didn’t finish that sentence, leaning back in the chair slightly and glancing out the window. “I haven’t heard anything about her before.”

 

“I’m sorry for that, come here and hold this for me, please,” Shanks asks because he can’t hold the hidden space open and open the lockbox with one hand. “Your mother was a private woman, she cared deeply and she was almost as dangerous as Roger when she wanted to be, but she was private most of all. Didn’t even know that she and Roger were,” he pauses because he’s not sure how to word it.

 

“Together,” Ace finishes for him.

 

“That,” Shanks agrees opening the box and frowning at what he has inside.

 

Shanks hadn’t been a pirate when Roger had agreed to take him on as a cabin boy, he had been a thief, good enough to keep himself from starving and avoid getting captured. It was something that he had never lost the habit of, which is why he probably has the most momentos from his time on the Oro Jackson. 

 

One of Rayleigh’s glasses, the chef’s favorite stockpot, the stupid treasure map that he and Buggy had made when they were being taught to make maps, mixed in with one of Nekomamushi’s pipes and a soft, silky sleeve of fabric from one of Oden’s formal outfits. There’s other odds and ends, things that he can’t remember who it belonged to anymore, but he had cared about them. At the bottom, wrapped carefully are the things he stole from Roger.

 

“It looks like Luffy’s stuff,” Ace mutters and Shanks snorts. “He’s always picking up shit. Stole my favorite shirt.”

 

“Memories are easier to keep when you have an object,” Shanks says, remembering how he told Luffy the same. “And I’ve always had a knack for theft.” 

 

“I can tell,” Ace is careful when he kneels down and picks up the pipe, twisting it in his hand curiously. “Zou, right?”

 

Shanks nods, pulling out the package of Roger’s things. “Nekomamushi and Inuarashi were part of the crew for a long time. Followed Oden when he joined up with us. That’s Nekomamushi’s favorite pipe.”

 

“Huh, no wonder he keeps such a close watch on his new one, he frowned at me for even offering to light it.”

 

“I’m sure,” Shanks grins. “These are what I took from Roger when we were disbanding,” he shrugs when Ace looks at him. “I was bitter and angry that we were doing that, the Oro was my home, so I took more than I should have before taking off at a port.”

 

“Would he have been mad?”

 

“Not the way that you think, but he would have wanted to ask me why. It’s,” Shanks sighs. “He cared about us, but he would want answers that I wasn’t willing to give him when I was upset. You can have some, I would like to keep the sword.”

 

There’s the hat that Roger had worn after giving Shanks the straw one, his favorite coat with the tear no one could mend quite right after the Edd War, the sword that Roger had picked up from a marine when his own had shattered and refused to let go of, and the stupidly ornate holder for his log pose with the only eternal pose that could reach closest to Raftel.

 

“You don’t use the sword,” Ace says slowly, still not touching anything even though Shanks would allow him to. “It’s nice.”

 

“It’s cursed,” Shanks admits tracing a finger along the pummel. “Roger was dying, he was sick with something that not even Crocus could heal up and it was only after he picked up this sword. I don’t know if it caused him to get sick or not.”

 

Ace is quiet, “He was dying?”

 

“He was sick, some kind of wasting illness, Crocus said. Even with everything he could do, Roger wasn’t expected to last out the year,” Shanks can remember hearing them break the news to Roger, he and Buggy hiding outside the door, excited to hear about what they would be doing next. “He was upset, I think.”

 

“I never heard that he was dying,” Ace says instead of commenting on something else, reaching for the coat. “This, is it easy to recognize?”

 

“Only if you unfold it, I think. Roger was a very tall man, but a lot of people wore coats like that. He was very inspirational, even if it was sometimes for the wrong reasons. Come on, we’ll fold it up right and hide away the most noticeable features.”

 

Ace nods slowly, picking it up carefully and leaving Shanks with the rest of his hoarded trinkets, waiting until Shanks had returned them to the lockbox, unfolding the coat on the floor.

 

“I said he was tall,” Shanks says watching Ace lay on top of it and scowl, the sleeves and the coat itself far too big for him. “You’re closer to Rouge in height. She was pretty short compared to Roger.”

 

“How are we folding this,” Ace says instead of acknowledging him. “Because it’s pretty big and ornate too.”

 

Shanks laughs, “Just mirror me, we had to sneak this past a number of marines when we were undercover a few times,” he pauses. “Marco can even summon the dead?”

 

“He says he can,” Ace admits softly. “He, I asked him to summon someone that died when we were children, turns out that he’s still alive,” he doesn’t smile, but it’s close. “He just lost his memory, but he was live. I’ve never seen him summon someone who was dead.”

 

“But you asked for your mother?”

 

“He offered,” Ace corrects. “He thought I was asking for my mom the first time I asked, but he said that I could have my mom whenever I wanted him to get her.”

 

“Marco is a good person, most of the time,” Shanks agrees, reaching into one of the drawers closest to him to pull out another length of fabric, treated to be resistant to the wear of the sea, and wrapping Roger’s coat up inside it. “Here, all yours.”

 

“Thank you,” Ace whispers, accepting the bundle. “I appreciate this.”

 

“It’s not a problem,” Shanks assures, because it’s not. Roger’s son deserves to have something from his father, even if Ace seems to dislike him. “And take this,” he pulls out a scrap of paper, scribbling down the number for his denden mushi. “I’ll be there if you need anything else.”

 

“You don’t have to.”

 

“I want to,” Shanks says calmly, because he does. He wants to be there, wants a chance to be there, for Roger’s son. He liked Ace when they met because it was Luffy’s brother and now he’s more than that, Shanks wants to make up for how few people must have been there for Ace. “Just call sometimes. I can probably dig up some stories about your mom.”

 

Ace lights up, like someone’s told him the best news in his life, “I would like that,” he shifts uncomfortably. “I have, have to go.”

 

“Come on then,” Shanks groans as he stands up, his knees creaking. “I’ll see you off.”

 

“Thank you.”

 

Shanks grins, already trying to remember what he could about Rouge and wondering who would be best to ask for more stories. He had said he could find stories about her for Ace, he wasn’t going to let him down.

* * *

  
  


“I’ve got everything,” Ace says returning from his week long vanishing act and collapsing on Marco’s bed, Kotatsu laying down on his back almost as soon as he stopped moving, curling up and making a soft quiet mreow. “Five whole items.”

 

“You were able to find someone who had something from your father, then?” Marco asks frowning as he tries to avoid looking at Ace just yet. He had been nervous enough when he had asked Pops for some time to run a personal assignment.

 

“Yeah,” Ace sighs. “I was lucky, found something and someone without too much hassle. They were… closer than I expected.”

 

Marco hums, “I’m glad. It’s good that you’re getting where you need to,” he glances over at Ace, shaking his head when he sees Ace’s face buried into one of the pillows. “Let me know when you’re ready. We have plenty of time to summon your mother now that you have everything that you need.”

 

“I just-”

 

“Don’t want to?”

 

Ace shakes his head, “I’ve never met her, I just don’t want to bother her, that sounds stupid doesn’t it?”

 

“I don’t know about that,” Marco says shrugging as he leans back in his chair and pushes his glasses up off his face tiredly. “If they don’t want to come they won’t. Summoning the dead is different then summoning the living. The dead can refuse, the living don’t have a choice.”

 

“Has anyone ever refused?”

 

Marco pinches the bridge of his nose as he closes his eyes, “An old man who hid his wealth from his greedy in-law’s, who found me and had me attempt to bring him back. A child whose mother wanted to see her once more, who didn’t want to see her step-father. And a woman who didn’t want her abusive family to see her.”

 

“But never beyond that?”

 

“I don’t think that your mom would refuse,” Marco says eyes still closed. He’s been reading paperwork for hours now and they burn. “I don’t know her, but from what my contacts were able to get, she sounds like a good person.”

 

“Yeah.”

 

Marco glances over, Kotatsu’s paws kneading Ace’s back delicately before Ace shifts just slightly and hisses at the prick of claws that Marco knows he’s got to be feeling, “You don’t sounds convinced.”

 

Ace peers at him, the dark circles under his eyes worse than before, “I don’t really want to talk about it.”

 

“If you insist,” Marco agrees easily, because he’ll respect Ace’s choices, he always has. “Do you know when you want to attempt to summon her? You’re never set a day or time and it’s not like we have anything to do today.”

 

“You think so?” Ace yawns.

 

Marco shakes his head, “Maybe you should take a nap first, you look like you’ll fall over and not get back up until you’ve slept for days.”

 

“I would never,” Ace mutters, one arm going under the pillow and sighing. “Sleep sounds nice, should get up and move to my room.” he doesn’t, eyes drooping slightly as he pushes his face more into the pillow.

 

“You can stay there, I’m not going to need that until nightfall and I don’t think you’re going to be sleeping that long.”

 

“Probably not,” Ace yawns, breaking off whatever else he had been planning to say as he closes his eyes. “Thanks.”

 

“Sleep well,” Marco mutters, twisting his pen between his fingers as he waits for Ace to fall asleep, glancing at Kotatsu. “Are you going to bite my fingers again if I try to give Ace a blanket?”

 

Kotatsu meows, sweet and with too wide cute eyes, laying his head on his paws.

 

“That doesn’t lead me to trust you,” Marco says standing up and grabbing the blanket from the ends of his bed and going slowly to cover Ace and avoid his hands being taken down by Kotatsu’s claws. “Fuck.”

 

He flexes his hand, the healing cuts vanishing almost as fast as Kotatsu had gotten him, “We have been over this, Kotatsu, I’m not trying to do anything.”

 

Kotatsu purrs, rolling over on his back, paws up, looking adorable and sweet, but Marco knew that it was going to be a trap. A trap that would end in his hands clawed up and bloody.

 

“You’re rude,” Marco states, trying again. “Ace says we’re suppose to get along, you know. Not argue. He’ll be upset that you keep attacking me.”

 

Kotatsu bats the blankets from underneath before finally slipping out and curling up against Ace’s chest as he turned on his side.

 

It was almost cute, the two of them, but Marco has paperwork that he needs to do and he doesn’t have time to sit around and try to pet cats that are going to attempt to take out his fingers. Even if he was suppose to be soft and Ace insisted that Kotatsu absolutely never bit fingertips.

 

Marco turns his attention back to his paperwork and focusing, trying to catch up with his self made schedule, checking occasionally to make sure that Kotatsu hadn’t moved and done something foolish, like jumped up onto the back of his chair to sit on Marco’s head again.

 

“Starin’,” Ace mumbles, barely opening his eyes. “Suppose ta do work.”

 

“I was making sure Kotatsu wasn’t going to gnaw on me again,” Marco says smiling when Ace snorts softly, brushing his fingers along Kotatsu’s side. “He’s taken to clawing up my hands when you’re sleeping.”

 

“He would never,” Ace yawns. “Kotatsu’s a good boy, who would never claw someone up, not unless they were attacking. Isn’t that right Tatsu?”

 

Kotatsu meows, loud and demanding, butting his head against Ace’s chin before purring happily and repeating the headbut.

 

“See, he just wants love,” Ace says scratching under Kotatsu’s chin and making him purr loudly, almost as loud as the inside of a clock tower. “Thanks, for letting me use your bed.”

 

“It’s not a big deal,” Marco promises, rolling his shoulders to loosen the stiffness he can feel building there. “You looked like you needed the sleep and who am I to stop you?”

 

Ace smiles, soft and happy like he so rarely ever does, “Still, thank you. Was I asleep for long?”

 

“Just a few hours, Nothing overly long, which is good. Too long and I would have had to kick you out of my bed to take my own nap,” Marco teases. “Are you feeling better?”

 

“I think so, do you think that it would be better to summon her today?”

 

“We’ve got more time. Tomorrow, we’re both going to be busy and that’s setting the tone for the rest of the week. Unless you want to wait longer.”

 

“No, no, I don’t think so,” Ace sighs sitting up. “I’ll got get the things.”

 

Marco waits for his door to close before pulling out the chalk he has in the top drawer of his desk and drawing the pentagram and the other symbols that were needed to summon the person that was wanted, avoiding the last line until Ace returned with the items.

 

“Do you have a preference for how this is set?” Marco asks frowning at the coat that Ace had insisted on setting down himself. “I know that you didn’t care so much when we were summoning your brother.”

 

“This is fine,” Ace mutters setting the coat, Marco thinks it’s a coat, it could be a bundle of fabric. “Thank you, again.”

 

“It’s not a problem, I’ll be just outside if you need me.”

* * *

 

Ace shifts nervously, counting down the minute between the placing of the last item and the appearance of the summoned. He doesn’t think it will work, even if Marco insisted that his mother would count him among the things that he loved, it didn’t mean that it’s true.

 

“I’m just going-”

 

“Going?” Ace stops, letting go of the coat and looking up at the woman smiling at him, her hair bright almost pink and her eyes sparkling. “But I just got here?”

 

“You came,” Ace says softly, eyes going wide, because here she is. His mom is here, summoned just like Marco had said that she would be. “I didn’t-”

 

“Did you think that I wouldn’t?” Rouge asks curiously, her smile soft. “It tells you who is trying to summon you and why, there’s no reason that I would hope to pass up seeing you, Ace. Look at you,” she gestures at him, almost sad. “You’re so much bigger than the last time that I saw you.”

 

“I was a baby then.”

 

Rouge laughs, loud and happy, “You were, but look at you! How old are you?”

 

“Nineteen,” Ace admits brushing his hand through his hair. “My birthday wasn’t that long ago.”

 

“Looks like you have my height then,” Rouge says shaking her head. “Roger was always too tall for his own good. A giant of a man and not just in personality. But, I think you look more like me.”

 

“I do?”

 

“Oh Ace,” she shakes her head. “You have his coloring, no one in my family ever had hair this dark unless they married in,” she reaches up to tap his nose. “But that is mine. The freckles too and your jaw. Can we sit, I want to hear everything, I’m sorry I wasn’t there.”

 

“That’s my fault.”

 

“No, it’s not Ace. You’re not at fault for anything that happened back then.”

 

Ace bites his lip, looking at her, that smile and the way she looks so happy to see him, “But if it wasn’t for me, you’d-”

 

“If it wasn’t for you, I would have done something stupid after Roger died,” Rouge states firmly. “I knew what I was doing, Ace. I knew it was going to cost me and I would do it again, because you’re my son and I love you.” she blinks and looks heartbroken. “Do you, did you think that I blamed you?”

 

“I killed you.”

 

“Ace, no,” she can leave the confines of the pentagram, but Ace knows that she’ll be less solid if she does, Marco said as much and he thinks she knows it. “Come here, Ace.”

 

“But-”

 

“Don’t you dare,” Rouge states, holding out her hand. “Come here.”

 

He takes it, letting her pull him into the pentagram, careful to keep from scuffing the lines as she pulls him into a hug, “What?”

 

“You are my son, Gol D Ace, and I would have done anything for you. So don’t you ever say that you killed me, you are my son and I may have died, but it was never your fault,” Rouge whispers, holding him too close and too tight. “Do you understand?”

 

“Yes ma’am.”

 

Rouge pulls back from the hug and gives him a sad look, eyes laughing, “Won’t you call me, mom?”

 

“I usually go by Portgas D Ace, mom.”

 

She laughs, “Portgas D Ace, huh? Sounds like my family name is being run into the ground now too. Well, then Portgas D Ace, tell your mother what adventures you’ve been having.”

 

“You’re not mad? About your name?”

 

“Ace, my name isn’t important. It’s just something that your father would say. He would get drunk at my bar and complain about how his family use to say that he was dragging their good name into the ground. Why do you think no one else has it?”

 

Ace shrugs, “I never thought about it,” he pauses. “Should we sit? I have a lot to tell you if you want to know everything.”

 

“Everything is exactly what I want to hear,” Rouge agrees, twisting as she sits down to have her skirt billow out so it’s not underneath her. “Where did you grow up? I know that Garp was there, he’s hard to miss, but that doesn’t mean grew up with the marines.”

 

“Bandits,” Ace says smiling slightly. “Gramps, that’s what I ended up calling Garp, he wanted to keep me safe. Had some friends in the mountains that were willing to keep me, as long as he didn’t tell anyone they were up there.”

 

“I knew I should have made my own arrangements,” Rouge sighs. “I know you grew up well, I can tell that just by looking at you, but I can’t believe Garp put you up with bandits. Who was going to suspect anything about you, you were too young.”

 

Ace laughs, “He never said. Just said it was safer, but it wasn’t the worst.”

 

“Were you lonely?”

 

“No,” Ace says softly. “I wasn’t lonely.”

 

“And where are we?” Rouge asks curiously. “I think that you can tell me at least that much before we get back to your story, is it safe here?”

 

“The Moby Dick, I’m the Second Division Commander of their crew. This is Marco’s room, he makes the summoning circles and the First Division Commander, and one of my best friends.”

 

“He sounds like a good man,” Rouge says brushing her hair from her face. “And your captain?”

 

“Edward Newgate or Whitebeard, depending on who you ask.”

 

Rouge frowns, “Oh, your father’s friend. The mustached one.”

 

“Technically.”

 

“Roger always said that Edward Newgate was a good man, for all that he was a pirate,” she smiles at Ace. “I should have known you would love adventure as much as he did.”

 

“Yeah,” Ace know that he doesn’t sound the most enthused, he never does when it comes to Roger. “Just like.”

 

“He said you wouldn’t like him,” she laughs when Ace jerks to look at her. “Roger isn’t a fool, he acts like one and he seems like one when you don’t know him, but he’s not. He said that it would be bad, what people would say about him,” she pauses. “You don’t have to tell me.”

 

“They said that I was a monster. And that I deserved to be put down, because I was his. Even if they didn’t know who I was and they thought it was hypothetical.”

 

Rouge sighs, her hands clasped together in her lap, “I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry, Ace.”

 

“It’s not your fault.”

 

“But Roger isn’t here to say it and I’m going to say it for him. We never wanted you to think something was wrong with you, because there isn’t Ace.”

 

Ace sighs, “It’s fine, mom. I’m not upset with you, you know.”

 

“No, I suppose that you aren’t,” she agrees softly. “But I’m still sorry that this is what happened in your life. I only wanted what was best for you and I should have done more.”

 

“Mom!”

 

“I’m your mother, if I could have done even a little bit more,” Rouge looks at him and Ace feels guilty. “I’m sorry that you weren’t able to have the life that I wanted for you,” she pauses. “And if you say that it’s your fault because you killed me, I will ground you.”

 

Ace laughs, “You can’t ground me, I’m an adult.”

 

“Not because I’m dead?”

 

“Like I wouldn’t listen to you,” Ace says smiling as he leans against her side. “You’re my mom.”

 

Rouge smiles, “You’re such a good boy.”

 

“I use to beat people up with metal pipes when I was younger, I don’t think I’m exactly the best behaved person.”

 

“I use to get in fist fights with the dock hands when I was a child,” Rouge laughs at the look Ace knows is on his face. “Did you think that I never did anything wrong?”

 

“I don’t know what I thought,” Ace admits.

 

“Good. Now, I believe I wanted to hear about your life, tell me all about it.”

* * *

  
  


Marco barely looks up as Ace stumbles into the room, holding everything that he had used to summon his mom, “You alright?”

 

“Yeah,” Ace agrees softly. “Thank you, for that. She, she wasn’t what I was expecting.”

 

“Is that a bad thing?”

 

Ace laughs and Marco can’t help but notice that his eyes are red and his voice is rough, like he’s been crying, “No, no. She’s amazing. More amazing than I could have imagined, thank you.”

 

“You’re more than welcome. I told you before Ace, it’s not that big of a deal.”

 

“It was,” Ace says dropping down onto his bed beside Marco and smiling softly. “So thank you.”

 

“Did you like meeting her?”

 

Ace nods, “She, mom was happy to see me. She said she loved me.”

 

“Then how could I think it wasn’t worth it?”

 

“She said you were a sap, by the way. And she hoped you weren’t a fool, whatever that means and she wanted me to thank you for letting me see her, it was more than she had thought she would get.”

 

Marco laughs, “Good. Are you going to go to sleep again?”

 

“Yeah, I don’t think I can stay awake after that. You gotta go to sleep too?” Ace yawns. “You can stay, it’s comfy here and I did steal your bed.”

 

“I think I will, good night, Ace.”

 

“Good night.”

 

Marco closes his eyes and smiles, another message waiting for him, with Rouge’s name scrawled across the bottom.

 

_ Thank you, for letting me see my son. _


End file.
